Some known vehicle consists include several propulsion-generating vehicles that generate tractive effort for propelling the vehicle consists along a route. For example, trains may have several locomotives coupled with each other that propel the train along a track. The locomotives may communicate with each other in order to coordinate the tractive efforts and/or braking efforts provided by the locomotives. As one example, locomotives may be provided in a distributed power (DP) arrangement with one locomotive designated as a lead locomotive and other locomotives designated as remote locomotives. The lead locomotive may direct the tractive and braking efforts provided by the remote locomotives during a trip of the consist.
Some known consists use wireless communication between the locomotives for coordinating the tractive and/or braking efforts. For example, a lead locomotive can issue commands to the remote locomotives. The remote locomotives receive the commands and implement the tractive efforts and/or braking efforts directed by the commands.
Before the remote vehicles will operate according to command messages received from a lead locomotive, however, communication links between the lead locomotive and the remote locomotive may need to be established. A communication “handshake” between the lead and remote locomotives may need to occur so that the remote locomotives can identify the lead locomotive, the lead locomotive can identify the remote locomotives, and the remote locomotives can determine that forthcoming command messages are received from the lead locomotive and not from another locomotive. In order to establish the communication links used to remotely control the remote locomotives from the lead locomotive, some known systems require an operator to go onboard each of the remote locomotives, manually input information about the lead locomotive and/or remote locomotives, and initiate communication of one or more wireless messages from the remote locomotives to the lead locomotive. In some vehicle consists having many remote locomotives, requiring an operator to enter onboard and manually enter this type of information onboard each remote locomotive can be very time-consuming and susceptible to human errors in entering the correct information. As a result, considerable time and effort may be expended in establishing communication links between the lead and remote locomotives in a vehicle consist.